1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates generally to telecommunications wiring interchange equipment, and more particularly, to apparatus adapted to support a plurality of telephone jacks upon a telephone wiring interconnection system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Within business, offices, apartment complexes and other locations where a number of telephone lines and/or data telecommunication lines are clustered together, telephone service is typically provided via a central telephone interchange wiring panel installed at the site of the business, office, apartment complex, etc.. Often, an underground or overhead trunk cable is routed to the wiring panel, and the interconnection between the trunk cable and the individual telephone and/or data communication lines is made upon the wiring panel. Individual telephone line wires and/or data communication line wires are routed from the wiring panel to each telephone or data terminal in use at the site.
Presently, wiring interconnections are typically made upon the telephone interchange wiring panel through the use of so-called terminal blocks or connecting blocks. One such terminal block in common use is that commercially available from American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) as Part Number 110AW1-100. Such terminal blocks provide multiple rows of wire-gripping terminals housed in a fire-retardant plastic base unit, the wire-gripping terminals being adapted to releasably grasp and retain the ends of telephone wires.
Wires from the telephone company trunk line are connected to terminals of the aforementioned terminal block. Wires leading to telephones and data terminals within the business, office, apartment complex, etc., are also coupled to the terminal block. To facilitate wiring changes, it is now known to mount jacks to such terminal blocks, and to couple on-site telephones and data terminals to the trunk lines through such telephone jacks. Wiring leading to on-site telephones or data terminals terminates in a telephone plug adapted to mate with one of the telephone jacks supported upon the terminal block. Telephone and/or data communications can then be established, disconnected, or rerouted simply by inserting, removing, or repositioning the corresponding telephone plug from or within one of the telephone jacks supported by the terminal block.
A number of different telephone jacks support devices are already known, including those described within U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,658,418 and 4,712,232. These two patents disclose a multiple telephone jack slide assembly including a jack support member for supporting a plurality of telephone jacks. The jack support member has a longitudinal channel formed by a slotted opening for slidingly receiving the plurality of telephone jacks. A retaining member may be secured to the jack support after the telephone jacks are inserted therein to inhibit further sliding movement of the telephone jacks.
Also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,867, issued to Keller et al., discloses a printed circuit board subassembly including modular telephone jacks as circuit interconnection devices to selectively join communications equipment throughout a building to incoming communications circuits.
In addition, AT&T presently markets a 110-type terminal block which includes twelve modular pre-wired telephone jacks mounted in a metal slide-type support bracket under Part No. 110AB1-100JP12.
As the use of telephone jacks in conjunction with terminal blocks becomes more widely accepted and practiced, the cost of producing telephone jack slide assemblies becomes more critical. One of the disadvantages with many of the telephone jack support assemblies already known is that they are made of metal and have a relatively high material cost and production labor cost.
Yet another disadvantage of many of the telephone jack support devices already known is the difficulty of inserting the plurality of telephone jacks within the telephone jack support device. Some of those telephone jacks support devices that are commercially available include enlarged openings at one of the ends of the support channel through which each of the individual telephone jacks must be passed in order to gain access to the channel. Still other telephone jack support devices which are commercially available include retaining bumps or nubs which serve to maintain the telephone jacks in the desired position after they are slid into the channel; when inserting each of the telephone jacks into the channel, the assembler must advance the telephone jacks over the retainer bumps in order to fill the channel with the telephone jacks.
Telephone jack support devices that are typically available include a channel which is of greater length than the cumulative length of the telephone jack supported thereby. Accordingly, the telephone jacks inserted within such channel can slide out of the desired position until either a retaining device is installed, or until the telephone jacks support device is snapped onto the 110 terminal block. Further, many of the telephone jack support devices now in use require that the telephone jacks be inserted from one end of the channel. For those telephone jacks which need to be positioned at the opposite end of the channel, the assembly person must spend time sliding such telephone jacks the full length of the channel, thereby lengthening the assembly time.
While it is generally known to use plastic materials in place of metals to reduce component costs, many plastic materials flex easily. If a telephone jack support device flexes too easily, then the jack support slot formed therein can become too wide and permit the telephone jacks supported thereby to fall out.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a telephone jack support device which slidingly supports a plurality of telephone jacks for connection to a terminal block, which device may be manufactured from inexpensive materials and with minimal labor costs.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a telephone jack support device wherein the telephone jacks may be easily and quickly inserted within the channel of the device.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a telephone jack support device wherein the telephone jacks may be inserted through the central portion of the channel, rather than from one end of the channel.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a telephone jack support device adapted to support the plurality of telephone jacks in proper position without requiring any retainers or fasteners, and without requiring that the telephone jack support device first be snapped onto a 110 terminal block.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide such a telephone jack support device which is inexpensive, yet which is rigid enough to prevent the telephone jacks supported therein from falling out inadvertently, as when the support device is dropped.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a telephone jack support device which is flame-retardant to inhibit electrical fires, and which is electrically non-conductive.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art as the description thereof proceeds.